Chapter 45.1: Key Holders
It was obvious that, although they had now narrowed down the scope of the investigation, the follow-up investigation into this home-invasion infant murder would still be far from easy.
After all, three years had already passed. Many of the traces that had existed at the time had long since disappeared. At this point, the only investigative method they could really rely on was visiting and questioning people. But after such a long time, the memories of those involved would inevitably have become hazy. Trying to find the murderer through interviews and questioning was certainly not going to be easy.
But Captain Tan and Captain Zhao both wanted to give it another try.
At least now, there was hope of solving the case. Investigating was better than doing nothing, and perhaps they really could crack the case, giving some measure of solace to the infant who had only just entered this world before leaving it, as well as to her parents.
The two teams decided to work together on the case.
Team One currently didn’t have much on its plate, and Tan Bingyi happened to be free, so he took charge of the investigation. Team Two, however, was somewhat busier. The county had reported a case, and Captain Zhao needed to make a trip there. He figured this case would definitely require a great deal of questioning, so it would be perfect for training the newcomers.
With a grand wave of his hand, he tossed the deputy captain, along with all the young rookies recruited that year, over to Tan Bingyi.
Tan Bingyi happily accepted them all.
They were all perfectly serviceable nuclear-powered donkeys—er, new officers!
It didn’t matter if they were a little inexperienced. As long as they could work, that was enough!
First, he deliberately took these donkeys—no, new officers—through the case files, gave them a little more information about the infant, and then delivered a rousing pep talk.
The group of rookie officers were so fired up that they one after another swore they wouldn’t give up until they solved the case.
The experienced veteran officers, meanwhile, remained perfectly calm.
This case was going to be a long grind!
The group headed enthusiastically to the victim’s home.
They had arranged a time in advance. When they knocked on the door, the child’s father, Luo Weidong, hurried out to greet them.
“Comrades from the Public Security Bureau, you’ve arrived.”
Time had smoothed away much of the pain. Luo Weidong’s expression was calm now. Even seeing so many police officers come to his home, he merely let out a sigh.
“Come inside and talk.”
Tan Bingyi led the group through the courtyard and into the house.
He looked around. Compared with three years ago, the furnishings had not changed much. There were even diapers hanging from the clothesline outside, while the table now had some additional children’s toys.
Through the side door, Tan Bingyi caught sight of a young woman sitting on the edge of the bed inside. She was gently holding the baby in her arms and rocking her to sleep, completely absorbed in what she was doing and paying no attention at all to the outside world.
“Comrades from the Public Security Bureau.”
Luo Weidong had brought out every cup in the house. He filled them with hot water and handed them around as he asked, “I heard what you said yesterday. You know who killed our Niu Niu, don’t you?”
Tan Bingyi shook his head slightly. “Not yet. We just have a new lead.”
The moment he heard that, a trace of disappointment appeared in Luo Weidong’s eyes.
But he said nothing more.
When Niu Niu had been brutally killed back then, it had felt as though the sky had fallen on their family. One after another, the whole family had gone to the city Public Security Bureau to ask whether the murderer had been caught.
But the answer they received was always the same: They were still investigating.
Life, however, had to go on. There was no way they could go there every day, so their daily inquiries gradually became once a week, then once every two weeks, three weeks, a month, half a year…
And naturally, the answer remained that the case had not been solved.
Time had gradually taken the edge off their pain, and they had come to accept reality. After his wife became pregnant again, the family had even silently reached an understanding that they would no longer bring up Niu Niu.
So when the police came to their home this time, Luo Weidong naturally hadn’t expected much. Hearing this answer, he wasn’t surprised. He simply nodded calmly.
“Oh. So you still haven’t found the murderer.”
For some reason, those words left Tan Bingyi feeling rather uncomfortable.
He quickly pushed the feeling aside and said seriously, “Your home’s door was opened with a duplicate key. In other words, there’s a very high probability that the person who killed Niu Niu was someone close to your family. Think carefully. How many keys to your home were there, and who has ever had them?”
“Someone close to us?”
Luo Weidong was just about to sit down when he shot to his feet. He stepped forward excitedly and asked, “How is that possible? You asked us back then who we’d given keys to as well. Only Auntie Zhang and Uncle Xu’s families ever had them. They’ve even been coming over to visit us regularly these past three years! If they really did it, then what the hell are they—people or ghosts?!”
“Comrade, calm down.”
Seeing how agitated he was, Chen Dong quickly stepped forward to reassure him. “It doesn’t necessarily mean it was one of your neighbors. Back then, we only investigated people who had been given your house key within the previous three months. Looking at the timeframe now, that obviously wasn’t enough. Think carefully again. Before that, who else had you or your family members ever lent a key to?”
“The more thoroughly you can remember, and the farther back you can go, the better.”
“That’s…”
Luo Weidong calmed down and slowly began to recall. “The keys to my house… We probably didn’t lend them out very often. Usually, it was just when someone forgot to bring theirs, or when they had something to take care of and left their key at a neighbor’s place so they could use it to get inside when they came back. At least, I haven’t lent mine to anyone these past few years. My wife hasn’t either. But I don’t know about my parents.”
Tan Bingyi looked toward Luo Weidong’s wife, preparing to confirm it with her.
She was still holding the baby and hadn’t let go for even a moment. Before Captain Tan could ask, she answered quietly, “I’ve never given my key to anyone else.”
After getting confirmation, Tan Bingyi had Luo Weidong call his parents over and questioned them one by one.
Luo Weidong’s father thought for a long while before saying, “I have a friend I go fishing with. I gave him a key once so he could bring my fish home for me and put them in the tank in the courtyard to keep them alive. Old Li from the alley across the way. But he’s a pretty kindhearted fellow. There’s no way he’d come over and kill my granddaughter.”
Tan Bingyi didn’t respond to that. He simply asked, “Anyone else?”
Luo Weidong’s father shook his head. “That’s the only one I can remember. I can’t think of anyone else.”
Tan Bingyi motioned for the rookies behind him to write it down, then turned his attention to Luo Weidong’s mother.
Luo Weidong’s mother wore a troubled expression.
She had retired early, and she was the one who took care of everything around the house. But there was only so much one person could handle, so she had teamed up with several close women in the neighborhood. They helped each other out, and she was constantly giving them her key. There had been so many times that there was no way she could remember them all!
She desperately racked her brain.
“I gave one to Deng Chun when I was buying groceries. One time, I was in a hurry to go exchange my ration coupons, so I had Zhan Mei bring the things back home for me. And then there was Shuzhen…”
Luo Weidong’s mother rattled off four or five names in one breath.
Tan Bingyi’s heart sank. He took a deep breath and continued asking, “Is that all?”
Luo Weidong’s mother sounded uncertain. “I think so.”
She said helplessly, “It was three years ago. There’s no way I can remember everything that clearly.”
“All right.”
Seeing that he couldn’t get anything more out of her, Tan Bingyi could only say for now, “Think about it again over the next couple of days. If you remember anyone else, come and let us know.”
With the important questions answered, Tan Bingyi turned to question Luo Weidong’s younger brother and sisters.
There were four siblings in the Luo family. The eldest sister had married and moved out seven years ago. The second brother had gone to the countryside, gotten married there, and still hadn’t returned. Only the fourth sister and fifth brother were still at home.
The youngest sister, Luo, tugged at the string around her neck and showed Captain Tan the key hanging from it.
“I’ve always kept the house key around my neck. I’ve never given it to anyone, and I’ve never lost it.”
The youngest brother, meanwhile, helplessly spread his hands.
“My dad hasn’t even had a key made for me yet. He says I’m still too young and don’t need one.”
It looked like that was about all they could get from the family.
Once again, Tan Bingyi reminded the Luos that if they thought of anything else, they absolutely had to inform him. Then he led the others away.
Outside, Tan Bingyi looked at the nuclear-powered donkeys behind him and cleared his throat.
“These are all the people we have for now. I’ll divide up the assignments. Old Qin, you take these two neighbors, Auntie Zhang and Uncle Xu. Chen Dong, you take some people and go question Old Li. Make sure you thoroughly check his whereabouts. Old Tang, you…”
After assigning all the tasks, Tan Bingyi said, “All right, don’t just stand around. Get moving and start checking everyone out.”
The eight criminal investigators split into pairs, each pairing an experienced officer with a rookie, and dispersed to conduct their interviews.
＊
Now that he had a task in hand, Chen Dong wasn’t in much of a hurry. With his wealth of experience, he conserved his energy and walked forward at a steady pace.
The rookie, Zhou Yiping, wanted to get the investigation done as quickly as possible and couldn’t help urging him.
“Brother Chen, shouldn’t we hurry?”
“Fast?”
Chen Dong glanced sideways at him and grinned. “Sure.”
Let’s see how long you can keep that energy up.
Zhou Yiping was still brimming with enthusiasm.
He was full of confidence.
What was so difficult about doing a background check? He’d done this kind of thing before. Sure, the case was a few years old, but the scope had been narrowed down so clearly. They were bound to identify the murderer through their investigation!
With that thought in mind, Zhou Yiping soon experienced his first major defeat in life.
Old Li was quite cooperative. When the police came over, he answered whatever they asked.
“Key? Old Luo did give me one. Wasn’t that just so I could put the fish in the tank at their house?”
“When did he give it to me? Which time are you talking about? Three years ago? I can’t remember that.”
“What was I doing when his kid died? I went fishing that day too. I came back in the morning. What time? Can’t remember. Anyway, my wife hadn’t made lunch yet when I got back.”
“After that? After that I was at home. My wife can vouch for me. What? That doesn’t count?”
“How am I supposed to know who else saw me?!”
“A grudge? When did Old Luo and I ever have a grudge? Don’t go making baseless accusations!”
“My son? My son and the second boy from the Luo family are like brothers. They get along very well.”
…
…
After the questioning, they hadn’t managed to clear Old Li of suspicion. If anything, he seemed even more suspicious.
Chen Dong didn’t jump to any conclusions. Instead, he continued taking Zhou Yiping around the neighborhood, asking people questions.
“Old Luo’s kid died three years ago? I can’t remember whether I saw Old Li that day.”
“That was so long ago. How could I remember?”
“I think I saw Old Li head out in the morning. Don’t know what time he came back around noon.”
“Did they have any kind of grudge? Never heard of one.”
“How are Old Li’s family’s finances? Well, they’re definitely better off than us. They even bought a bicycle last year.”
“Are they rich? Not particularly. When they bought the bicycle last year, they still had to borrow money from my family.”
“His son? He’s been back for several years now, but he still can’t find a proper job. Just wanders around everywhere. A complete street loafer.”
“Any cases of stealing chickens or petty theft? I haven’t heard of anything like that…”
…
……
As the interviews continued, Zhou Yiping’s hand gradually became sore from writing, and the light in his eyes began to fade.
The answers were vague and sometimes contradicted one another. None of it was particularly useful!
Chen Dong, on the other hand, was still in exactly the same state he’d been in when they first set out. Seeing Zhou Yiping looking completely drained, he grinned.
“Well? Kid, can you keep going?”
“Haven’t we already asked everyone?”
Zhou Yiping looked bewildered. “What else is there to ask?”
“You think asking once is enough?”
Chen Dong chuckled. “Come on. We need to ask them all over again to verify what they said!”
What? Again?
Zhou Yiping was instantly numb.
And without a doubt, the other teams were feeling exactly the same way.
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